Day 51-Governor Newsom reinstates the mask mandate in California

Drama for L. at the Art Studio today…

2/4/22. Friday

9:00-9:15 – I wake up to my Iphone ringing. It’s the first roofing contractor.  Although he told me he would give me two days notice as to when he would repair the roof, he began texting me at 6:45 a.m. this morning, requesting to fix the roof NOW, in three hours.  Due to the fact that he originally told me he would give me a 48-hour notice to fix the skylights, I had deliberately held off telling him that I found a cheaper contractor because I planned to speak with him directly, when he called to schedule the job.  But, he did NOT give me a 48-hour notice.  He texted me three times this morning, then called me and left a message. Your poor planning is not my emergency. I text him back and say I found a lower bid.

9:30-10:00 – Now I’m up, unfortunately. I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal.  It looks like she’s already been outside, but then decided to go back to sleep. Still, she knows the drill. The dog rolls over on her back so I can pet her tummy, but every time I cue her to go outside, she doesn’t budge.  I gently hand her a tennis ball and we finally head to the backyard. I wait for her to go potty and then we return inside.  Coffee for me; turkey for her.  I go upstairs.

10:00-11:00 – Blog post

11:00-2:00 – I have a Zoom Flex seminar that addresses students on the Autism spectrum and something I’m forced to attend as part of my mandatory 6 hours of continuing education training, per my contract at College No. 1. But I don’t Zoom in.  Instead, I call the Zoom phone number and attend class that way.  This is a little known feature that almost nobody uses, but it’s so helpful. Most speakers who coordinate these seminars don’t realize there’s a call in, which literally turns me into the “fly on the wall.”  This is a 3-hour seminar, so after calling in and surreptitiously joining the meeting, I put my phone to the side and move on with my life. I never listen to these things. If someone wants proof, I can always send my phone records and I saved the phone number I called.  Since Covid started, I have yet to be asked for proof that I attended a training or seminar.

-I have more coffee and some of my Mom’s banana bread.  Then I cut up the rest of the loaf into squares and freeze it.

-I listen in on a call that L. is having with Corporate. Due to the fact that L. asked her supervisor (La) some hard-hitting questions about the “Curious George Meets Bad Dad” incident, La reported L. to Corporate, alleging that L. was disrespectful and abrupt towards her (La) yesterday.  Translation: L. is NOT a team player. Here are the hard hitting questions L. asked La: 1) Can you provide details regarding the incident with K.?; 2) Can you call a locksmith to fix the lock on the front door? Staff have to use pliers to lock and unlock the door.  

HOWEVER, the final nail in the coffin occurred when La asked L. to come in 15 minutes early [2 hours before her shift starts and clearly with no regard for L.’s personal time] and L. said she was out of town, in Santa Monica currently, and didn’t think she could make that 15-minute window. Per my and L.’s calculations, L. was just going to make the start of her shift, largely because we packed a lot in today in a short amount of time…L. and I drove to Santa Monica for Beach Cycle, then had a leisurely breakfast at the BBC, all of which is out-of-town and only accessible via the horribly congested 405 freeway.

La did not agree with L.’s response that she was out of town and would not be able to come 15 minutes early. La’s rationale is L.’s shift starts in 2 hours and L. was going to report for the start of her shift…how can she not arrive 15 minutes early? As a result, La reported L. to Corporate for being rude and disrespectful because L. refused to come in 15 minutes prior to the start of her shift.  And “refused” is a harsh word…it’s not as if L. refused…La texted L. and asked if L. could come in and L. politely said no. 

But why are we even talking about this petty bulls—t?  God, this brings back memories of my 25 years in state service.  The back-biting, the back-stabbing, talking behind your back…I just wanted to do my job, but was constantly thwarted from doing actual work to address or reply to imagined grievances from insecure and incompetent supervisors. 

Anyway, when La reported L. to Corporate, this sent off a chain reaction, culminating in L. getting a phone call from A (Corporate)., with no warning, wherein A.’s greeting to L. is “What is going on with you!!??”   No “Hi L.  Do you have a moment?” or “Good Morning. How are things at the Studio?”  Instead, the opening line is “What is going on with you?!!” 

-L. allows me to listen in on this conversation while I’m supposedly attending a Zoom seminar on autism and the conversation goes just as you would imagine. La’s feelings were hurt, why didn’t L. report to work 15 minutes early? [nobody bothers to point out the obvious…that L. wasn’t scheduled for that block of time and, thus, doesn’t have to come in early], andthey are going to call a locksmith ASAP for the front door.  

L. can’t get a word in edgewise other than to say, professionally, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “I don’t know what La is talking about.” “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.” “I was in Santa Monica and did not think I could get to the studio 15 minutes before the beginning of my shift.” “Nothing is “going on with me.” “I’m unclear as to why La called you.”  “I will say that staff is scared with regard to La’s text that employees should no longer be alone in the Studio, that the door should be locked at all times, and a Sheriff will be patrolling the area. La has not discussed the incident involving K. with the staff and none of us know what happened. We’re concerned.” 

After witnessing all of this, I’m disgusted. 

2:00-3:30- The seminar is over and so is L.’s conversation. My Firestick is still on the fritz so I do more troubleshooting and re-watch the last episode of And Just Like That again because I missed part of it yesterday. I eat my leftovers from the BBC and work on a bullet journal.

3:30-4:30 – In accordance with my Curated Closet project, I try on more blouses and discard, then take a break and have a piece of almond butter toast.

4:30-6:00 – Shower. Lotion. Light make-up.  I change into workout clothes.

6:00-7:00 – I defrost a pasta/sausage dish that I froze months ago and continue reading the Curated Closet.

7:00-10:30 – I go to work. I upload five blog posts, while listening to Core Class Audio Lectures Chapter 8 and 9 on double speed. I also check the accompanying Google slides to see if L. needs to make changes. When I’m done, I resume going through my filing cabinet and hole-punch papers and invoices for my “Home Binder” in accordance with The Paper Solution.

-I email two students and call it a day.

11:00-11:15 – I do a 15-minute Insanity Max– Ab workout.

11:25-12:00 – I do a 30-minute Insanity Max – Cardio Challenge workout

12:00-1:00 – I take pictures of today’s outfit in accordance with my Curated Closet project, then write in my bullet journal.

1:00-1:45 – Nighttime routine. Bed. I set my alarm for 6:15.